Exdiakoff 134 Brooke Williams ENGL 134 10/7/17, Sequence IT In the background of a chatty family barbeque, a crackling radio mufiled, “An atomic bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. “The once noisy backyard full of loved ones hushed to a silence. Everyone’s eyes gazed over to see a young woman sitting beside the radio, her ears glued to the surface, sobbing. Her glazed over, tear-filled eyes were full of tremendous worry and anxiety. By the distressed look in her eyes, it was evident that there was someone on the other side of that radio who she was close to and loved. That young woman was Dorothy Claire Ludz, a person longing to know if her husband who was involved in the bombing of Hiroshima was alive and well. oe Dorothy Claire Ludz was married to the late Dan Franklin Ludz, a marine during World War II. Dorothy is 96 years old and was alive to witness and go through the hardships of | ‘on the home front during the wartimes. She went to college at Fresno State University and lived in Kerman, California for the majority of her life. Recently Dorothy relocated and is now living in San Luis Obispo, California with her caretakers. I went to meet up with Mrs. Ludz at her home in sunny San Luis Obispo. I pulled up onto the front of a long driveway, and in the distance sat a large cottage style house. The greenery in the front yard was maintained immaculately, and a variety of luscious flowers lined the walkway up to the grand entrance. To my right was a large koi pond, surrounded with clusters of purple Coanneics phaErdiakoff 134 and magenta bougainvillea flowers in full bloom. I made it up the steps to a deep red front door, with antique glass panes throughout, that squcaled with character. I gave the old door a knock and a quiet, gentle voice from i ide said, “Come in!” with excitement. I opened the door and I ‘was immediately stunned with the fragrance of floral perfume and antique wood. Walking into Dorothy’s house was like entering a museum; every object in sight looked like it had an engaging story to tell. Black and white photographs lined her walls, and old rifles were mounted on both sides of her television. A quaint coffee table had its place in the center of the room; on it sat a large box full of handwritten letters, and a little bowl of hard candy that was set out for me. A blanket of comfort fell over me, and I felt very welcome ~ as if | was walking into my own grandmother's house. Lines of clear tubing ran across the floor and led up to small, size five, slipper covered feet. The tubes climbed up to the arms of the chair and sat right under her nose. The oxygen gas coming from her tank made a calm continuous buzzing sound as she spoke the words, “Welcome in!” Flr smiley, wrinkled face beatied with positivigy 1 could not wait to hear her story. Living at home during World War IT was more difficult than expected. A civilian who was living on the home front endured all of the pavaans that the war brought al ance oF ther Be tne bee Sy Tiyes were aflexG Gi haasces Ccaion, cl eiatontioz atc Lawed eee Sees fighting in the war are always the focus of stories of all of the pain and suffering during World War II, but families and friends of these soldiers came across many hardships as well throughout this era, During World War II, Dorothy Clair Ludz was going to college at Fresno State University. The demographic of students in attendance was unusual; the attendees were all girls and very few boys. The only boys in attendance were there because they were unfit to enlist in the war due to physical inabilities. yErdiakoff 134 Atthis time, many prices were inflated at grocery stores, and many necessary goods were very searee. Perishable goods were so limited and hard to find that Dorothy could remember specifically that one of her dear friends worked at the grocery store, and the only way Dorothy could get her hands on some butter was if her friend would hide a stick for her whenever a shipment would come in. There were specific rules for civilians when it came to purchasing, imported gop, for example, buying Japanese goods was a no go. There was no obtaining of ol or silk from Japan, and nonetheless, you did not want to be seen with goods supporting the enemy. There were certain goods you did want to buy and sell,o support your soldiers, like ‘wool. At the time Dorothy's father owned and ran a sheep farm, and harvested loads of woo! D2 coe : as ; from the sheep. During that time, Dorothy’s family ae Particularly prosperous; the demand for : ‘wool was accordingly high because of the multitude of blankets and supplies made from wool that were shipped out to the soldiers. Dorothy’s family was fortunate to have a strong income at this time, for most people’s finances were affected negatively. As prices went up, the average income went down, Family life on the home front was difficult,a lot of the time families were tipped apart by war time and what they entailed. Dorothy first found out about the news about the bombing of Pearl Harbor over the radio. The reporters explained this devastation in great detail. Dorothy became very concerned and worried for the safety of her family and friends because she knew that many of them would enlist or be drafied into the war. After Pearl Harbor, Dorothy’s first cousin, Bob Inrigary whom she was very close to, was drafted into the war; along with many of her friends who also lived in Kerman. Dorothy’s heart was broken to see her loved ones go. To stay in touch with her friends and family throughout the course of the war when times were tough, DorothyErdiakoff 134 sent and received hundreds of letters to and from her friends, family, and fiancé)To support her_ country and loved ones who were serving in the war, Dorothy took part in events that worked with the USO (United Service Organization). She would take care of soldiers when they would /2¢ roy come home to rest and enjoy leisure time. Even though Dorothy was not serving in the war, _ herself and many others who stayed home were working diligently to support their country. After World War II was concluded, Dorothy was on her last college semester at Fresno State University. The campus was bustling like it was before the war was underway. Now, and once-/_) again, the university demographic had changed significantly; a great number of soldiers returned be back home and were attending college through the GI Bill. As exaggerated prices slowly floated ‘back down to where they were before World War II had begun, all of life seemed to have rested back to normality. See 5 In three years, eight months, and twenty-two days, the United States and its civilians had). gone through so much. I was in awe as Dorothy explained to me how life was during World War Tr; she was so cheerful and happy to share her story {6 me, Mrs. Ludz had gone through so much hardship in her life, yet she remained so positive about how World War IL affected her life. 3 ‘The process of connecting, conversing, and interviewing a woman such as Dorothy Ludz was 2 very interesting and rewarding occurrence. It was a great experience and an even better ‘opportunity to learn these facts from a person’s lifetime memory and personal first hand experiences than any text book handed to me. The past generations of people are very sincere, genuine, and wise beyond compare. Speaking with Dorothy Ludz was a great opportunity, and it was very refreshing to find out details and information about World War II from a person who lived on the home front throughout the wartime, and from a woman's perspective. (